FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State closed out its weekend with its second and third straight wins, defeating Central Oklahoma (3-1) and Bacone (3-0) on Saturday (Oct. 18) afternoon.

The Tigers (10-12, 4-9 MIAA) return to Gross Memorial Coliseum next weekend for conference games against Southwest Baptist (Friday, Oct. 24) and Pittsburg State (Saturday, Oct. 25).

A complete recap of individual matches is below…

Fort Hays State 3, Central Oklahoma 1

An all-around effort carried FHSU past Central Oklahoma, 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 17-25, 29-27) on Saturday afternoon, in the first game of a triangular in Edmond, Okla.

Close throughout the entire match, FHSU pulled away late in the first two sets to take a 2-0 lead.

Tied 7-7 in the first, FHSU went on a 5-1 run (which included three kills from Teresa Wade) to lead 12-8, but the Bronchos climbed back to tie it, 12-12, soon after.  Later in the set, tied 16-all, a kill from Rebeka Spainhour sparked a four-point burst that gave the Tigers much needed breathing room late in the set.  FHSU stretched the lead to six (24-18) before taking the set, 25-19.

FHSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but again would have to battle, as the teams traded points until 10-all. Down one (11-10), a kill from Wade started a 5-0 run for FHSU that brought the score to 15-11, giving the Tigers the lead for good in the set.

Nearing set point, the Bronchos cut the deficit to one (23-22), but couldn’t complete the comeback as kills from Mallory Flagor and Taylor Mares sandwiched a UCO point, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead with a 25-23 set victory.

UCO played well in the third set, never trailing in a 25-17 win.  The Bronchos strung together two 4-0 runs and one 3-0 run in the set, keeping the Tigers at bay to pull within one, 2-1, in the match.

After a slip in the third set, the Tigers needed a win-by-two situation to put the match away, but eventually did, completing a comeback in the fourth set after facing a tying set point (27-26).

In a set that saw 13 tie scores, the largest lead for either team in the set was three (8-5 for UCO and 21-18 for FHSU).  Looking to put the match away, up 24-22, FHSU was forced into a win-by-two situation after allowing two quick points from the Bronchos to tie it, 24-all.

FHSU went up 25-24 and 26-25, but couldn’t complete the win as UCO continued to answer.  At 26-25, two straight for the Bronchos put UCO in the driver’s seat (27-26), forcing an FHSU timeout.  After the reset, a kill from Flagor tied it, 27-all, and back-to-back blocks (an assist by Flagor and Callie Christensen and a solo block by Flagor) sealed the win for the Tigers, 29-27.

Three Tigers hit double digits in kills, led by Taylor Mares’ 13 kills.  Wade had 12 kills, while Mallory Flagor added 11 kills from the right side.  Spainhour neared the 10-kills mark with eight kills.

Callie Christensen, who had six kills, led the team with five blocks (one solo) on the afternoon, contributing the nine total team blocks.  Flagor (one solo) and Mares each had three blocks.

Raegen Vanderplas led the team with 27 assists in the setter role, sharing the rotation with Kristen Conor, who had 22 assists.  Vanderplas’ 10 digs was fourth on the team, behind Wade (13 digs), Kaitlin Bradley (15 digs) and team-leader Keanu Bradley, who had 29 digs.

Fort Hays State 3, Bacone College 0
FHSU grabbed its third sweep of the season with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-16) win over Bacone in the second game of a triangular in Edmond, Okla.

Trailing early, the teams traded points until FHSU grabbed its first lead of the day (5-4).  The Tigers never trailed after that, though BC stayed close.  Up 16-14, a quick four-point burst for FHSU gave the Tigers their largest lead of the night, 20-14, but Bacone rallied late to tie it, 23-all. Fort Hays State, recovered, however, and took the set, 25-23, on a kill from Mares.

Tied 6-6 in the second set, a kill from Spainhour started a 6-0 rally for the Tigers that put them in control for good.  Up 14-9, the Tigers broke out on an 8-0 burst to lead, 22-9, eventually taking the set, 25-15.

The teams remained close early in the third, when tied 5-5, the Tigers went up 8-5 to grab the final lead of the day.  Ahead by five (18-13) later on, FHSU closed the set on an 8-2 run, including a stretch of seven unanswered, to win, 25-16.

18 Tigers saw time in the match, and though no FHSU player hit double-digits in kills, Flagor led the team with seven kills while Spainhour had six kills, and Mikalah Hughes grabbed five kills.

Conor’s 15 assists led the Tigers’ setters, as Vanderplas added 13 assists and nine digs – tied for the team-high with Kelsey Broadwell.

FHSU Athletics

No. 25 Fort Hays State closed out a weekend of MIAA play with its second consecutive shutout and eighth straight victory, defeating Harding, 2-0, on Saturday (Oct. 18) in Searcy, Ark.

FHSU (10-3-1, 7-2-0 MIAA), which hasn’t lost since Sept. 20, matched the Bison with 12 shots apiece for the afternoon, though the Tigers held a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Tanner Brock scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season just before the break, giving FHSU a 1-0 lead.  After a penalty called on HU inside the box, Brock’s penalty kick beat the keeper at 37:20.

After the break, the Tigers extended the lead at the 57:00 mark.  Brock, looking for his second goal of the day, took aim at the net before his shot was deflected by an HU defender. Austin Clifton, however, recovered the blocked shot and scored from the left side of the box towards the far post.  The goal was Clifton’s fifth of the season, while Brock had his sixth assist of the year on the play.

Brock’s four shots was a team-high for the game, while Diego Cabral (two shots on goal) and Clifton (one shot on goal) each tallied two shot attempts.

Kent Freund had three saves on the afternoon, playing all 90 minutes between the pipes for FHSU and improving to 9-2-1 at goalkeeper.

Next time out, the Tigers travel to St. Charles, Mo., on Thursday (Oct. 23) for a road contest versus Lindenwood.  FHSU’s 8-0 win over the Lions last month started the Tigers’ current win streak.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State women’s cross country finished fifth out of 17 teams at the FHSU Tiger Open on Saturday (Oct. 18) at the Sand Plum Nature Trail, just outside Victoria, Kan. Micki Krzesinski led the way for the Tigers in 24th individually.

The Tigers competed in the Gold Division race, which had 143 competitors. The 5K course was very fast on a beautiful sunny morning. The women’s course record was shattered by 26 seconds with Jenna Thurman of Adams State running a time of 17:14, averaging 5:32 per mile. That topped the mark of 17:40 set by Brittany Poole of Northwest Missouri State in 2012.

The Tigers were topped by four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, three of which are nationally ranked. The rankings held true as No. 2 Adams State won the race with 33 points, No. 4 Western State finished with 83, and No. 10 UC-Colorado Springs finished with 116. Colorado Mines was fourth with 128 and FHSU was fifth with 159.

Krzesinski covered the course in 18:19, scoring 21 team points. Chelsea Jackson was right with her, finishing 25th overall in 18:20 and scored 22 team points. Alex Keehn was 37th overall in a time of 18:37, scoring 34 points. Ramsey McCarter finished 44th in a time of 18:43, scoring 40, and Amanda Morgan was 46th in 18:47, scoring 42.

Winning the Black Division race as a team was Dodge City Community College. Grasiela Navarro of Pratt Community College won the Black Division individually in a time of 18:38.

FHSU men finish 11th
The Fort Hays State men’s cross country finished 11th at its home meet, the FHSU Tiger Open, on Saturday (Oct. 18) at the Sand Plum Nature Trail, just outside of Victoria, Kan. Ryan Hopkins led the way for FHSU in 45th overall as an individual.

The Tigers competed in the Gold Division race, which had 201 competitors. The course was very fast on a beautiful sunny morning. The men’s course record was shattered by 45 seconds with Ian Butler of Western State running a time of 23:33, averaging 4:44 per mile. That topped the mark of 24:18 set by Naseem Haje of Adams State in 2013.

Hopkins covered the 8K course in a time of 24:53, scoring 32 points in the team standings. Troy Wineinger was 78th overall in 25:31, but scored 49 team points. Seth Parres was 107th in a time of 26:04, scoring 68 team points. Isaac Williams finished 116th in 26:11 and scored 74 team points. Brock Elgin was 125th in a time of 26:17, scoring 82 team points.

Colorado Mines won the Gold Division with a team score of 33. Western State finished second with 45 and Nebraska-Kearney was third with 110. Fort Hays State scored 305 points as a team.

Winning the Black Division race as a team was Allen County Community College. Unattached runner Josh Eberly won individually with a time of 24:11.